Florian Wirtz has been heavily scrutinised in his debut season at Liverpool, but he’s having a better season than some of the Premier League’s most revered stars.
There’s a very simple reason for the disproportionate criticism — Liverpool paid £116 million for Wirtz. If you take that out of the equation, it paints the German in a better light.
Liverpool’s performances as a team is another factor influencing the discourse around the 22-year-old. When you start to compare him to his Premier League peers, it becomes clear that his struggles have been overblown.
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Florian Wirtz is more productive than Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and many more
It has long been the narrative that Liverpool’s new number ten plays better on the international stage. Wirtz put on a stunning display against Switzerland last week in which he scored twice and assisted two more.
It’s true that he looks much more comfortable in the German system, but he’s doing better for the Reds than some would have you believe.
Florian Wirtz vs Premier League stars (club & country)
| Goals | Assists | |
| Florian Wirtz | 9 | 13 |
| Bukayo Saka | 11 | 8 |
| Eberechi Eze | 11 | 6 |
| Bryan Mbeumo | 11 | 5 |
| Phil Foden | 10 | 6 |
| Estevao Willian | 12 | 3 |
| Cole Palmer | 10 | 3 |
| Matheus Cunha | 7 | 5 |
The caveat here is that much of his production has come in Europe and for Germany, but it shows that the level of scrutiny he is under is unwarranted.
Some of these players are playing in better teams, which actually makes these Wirtz numbers look even better. If Liverpool’s attackers were more clinical this season, he would be light years ahead of the pack.
Wirtz will be a top 5 player in the Premier League
I’m putting it out there. This has been a season to forget at Anfield, but it’s hard not to be excited by the potential of the future creative hub of the team. There is a gap to be filled when Mo Salah leaves Liverpool.
Germany manager Jurgen Klinsmann predicts Wirtz will explode into life next season.
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Sure, it hasn’t been perfect to this point, but for a young player, there’s always going to be an adjustment period — especially moving from Germany to one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
If this is the worst version of Wirtz we are going to see, that bodes extremely well for his Liverpool career.
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